EDRS: operational 1.8 Gbit/s laser relay
EDRS established an operational optical relay service that moves Earth-observation data from low Earth orbit through geostationary nodes at up to 1.8 Gbit/s.
- Team / system
- ESA · Airbus · European Data Relay System
- Link geometry
- LEO to GEO, up to about 45,000 km
- Platform
- Sentinel satellites via EDRS laser terminals
- Year / programme
- 2016–
01 · SYSTEM
How it was achieved
A laser communication terminal on a moving Sentinel spacecraft establishes an inter-orbit link to a geostationary EDRS node. The GEO node then forwards the data to Europe, reducing the delay otherwise imposed by short direct-to-ground contact windows.
02 · EVIDENCE
Evidence snapshot
- 01
Laser communication terminal capacity reported at 1.8 Gbit/s.
- 02
Operational relay supports Copernicus Sentinel missions.
- 03
Inter-orbit geometry spans LEO-to-GEO distances rather than a short laboratory path.
03 · SIGNIFICANCE
Why it matters
EDRS is important because it turned optical crosslinks into a sustained service, demonstrating network value rather than a single record-setting pass.
05 · REFERENCES
Sources & references
The values in this file are traced to the sources below. Record language follows the wording supported by the primary evidence.
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